Balotelli risks Inter future by wearing Milan shirt

Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli appears to have put his future at the club in further jeopardy after wearing an AC Milan shirt on a television show.

Balotelli has not been included in Inter's last three squads after a reported argument with Jose Mourinho and there are serious doubts about whether he will remain with the Serie A champions long-term.

The 19-year-old risked further negative publicity this week when he appeared on comedy show Striscia La Notizia and accepted a gift of a Milan jersey emblazoned with his name. Balotelli, a childhood Rossoneri fan, is later pictured wearing the shirt.

The show's presenter also asked whether Inter's win over Chelsea was Mourinho's victory given his decision to axe the striker, but Balotelli dismissed the suggestion.

"No way," he said. "It was the team that won at Stamford Bridge, not Mourinho."

Balotelli also said "there's no point" asking him about why he has not been included in recent squads. "You need to ask those who are higher up," he added. "I don't know. Maybe the other players are just stronger than I am."

The player's agent, Mino Raiola, later defended Balotelli's actions, saying the show should be taken as a "joke" and that he is a "boy of 19 who may not understand the consequences of what he does".

"I hope the fans understand that you cannot take a programme like Striscia seriously," he told Telelombardia and Antenna 3.